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Published: 18:34, March 12, 2022 | Updated: 20:15, March 13, 2022
Isolation facility opens on HKZMB artificial island
By Su Zihan and Wang Zhan
Published:18:34, March 12, 2022 Updated:20:15, March 13, 2022 By Su Zihan and Wang Zhan

Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu (center)  chats with Chairman and Non-executive Director of China State Construction International Holdings Limited Yan Jianguo (right) during his visit to the community isolation facility on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, March 12, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s battle against COVID-19 has been given another shot in the arm with the opening of a community isolation facility on the artificial island at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

The facility, built with the help of the central government, went into operation on Saturday. It’s expected to strengthen Hong Kong’s quarantine capacity as the city fights to contain the fifth and most serious wave of the pandemic.

ALSO READ: Patient's diary: Greetings from boy next door at isolation facility

More than 400 quarantine rooms with some 1,200 beds will be provided at the facility to help relieve the heavy burden on local hospitals. It will be used to isolate patients with no or mild symptoms.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu (4th right), Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Yin Zonghua (3rd left), Chairman and Non-executive Director of China State Construction International Holdings Limited Yan Jianguo (2nd left) attend a handover seminar of the community isolation facility on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, March 12, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

As more community isolation and treatment facilities built with Chinese mainland assistance are completed and handed over to the SAR government, COVID-19 patients could be speedily isolated to prevent the spread of the virus, the transmission chain could be broken, the pandemic contained and the lives and health of local residents will be protected, Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu said after visiting the site on Saturday.

READ MORE: HK ‘still not out of the woods yet’

The completion of the new isolation facility demonstrates the central government’s full support for the SAR in curbing the pandemic, Lee said, adding he’s grateful to everyone involved in the construction work.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu (left), accompanied by a representative of the contractor, views a newly constructed unit at the community isolation facility on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, March 12, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Lee also thanked Yan Chai Hospital for the donation of anti-epidemic kits to help in taking care of the occupants during their stay.

According to a representative of the team engaged in building these facilities, the occupancy rate of two other completed community isolation facilities – on Tsing Yi Island and at San Tin in the New Territories – has reached an average of 80 percent and is considered to have met the requirement.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu receives a briefing from a staff member of the contractor during his visit to the community isolation facility on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, March 12, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

The team responsible for managing the facilities has introduced new measures to improve living conditions there, including the provision of newspapers and online entertainment platforms to meet patients’ needs, as well as toys for children, the representative said.

Hong Kong is in the midst of combatting the latest COVID-19 outbreak, dominated by the Omicron variant, with the city’s public hospitals overflowed with patients, while community isolation and treatment facilities are in short supply. 

Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu (3rd right); Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yan Chai Hospital Macy Wong (4th right); Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee (3rd left); Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun (2nd left); and Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung (2nd right) hold anti-epidemic supplies kits donated by the Board of Directors of Yan Chai Hospital, Hong Kong, March 12, 2022. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Hong Kong reported 27,647 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday – 15,789 infections confirmed by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 11,858 detected through rapid antigen tests.

So far, among the community isolation facilities built in the SAR with mainland assistance, only the three – on Tsing Yi, at San Tin and on the HKZMB artificial island – have gone into operation.

Several other similar facilities at the Fanling North New Development Area, Hung Shui Kiu and Tam Mei in Yuen Long will be handed over to the SAR government this month. The six sites will provide a total of about 20,000 emergency isolation beds, Lee said.

suzihan@chinadailyhk.com


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